Monday, May 2, 2016

Celine Cooper: The Canadian government's feminism should be better reflected in foreign policy

An interesting angle of the Saudi women driving issue is how foreign governments who are strong proponents of women's rights should respond to the fact that Saudi women are not permitted to drive in their own country. Celine Cooper writes about what Canada should do given its government's support for feminism. This article appeared in the May 1, 2016 edition of the Montreal Gazette. You can link to the story here and the story is pasted in below.

Story by Celine Cooper, Special to the Montreal Gazette
The Liberal Party of Canada has officially made feminism a
centrepiece of their political brand. Their latest fundraising campaign
includes stickers with the slogan I am a Feminist (Like My PM).
Trudeau’s open embrace of feminism — particularly his decision to
appoint Canada’s first ever gender-parity cabinet — has been positive.
It has had a ricochet effect in political circles, including here in
Quebec, where many provincial politicians have faced questions about
whether they identify as feminist.
The good news is that feminism has become a bigger part of mainstream
political conversation. On his most recent trip to New York, Trudeau
spoke to reporters about his commitment to gender equality, even
highlighting the long-ignored issue of missing and murdered indigenous
women and the gender pay gap in Canada. As a result, these matters are
now receiving both national and international attention. Whether or not
you go for Trudeau’s brand of populist politics, there’s no denying that
this is progress.

So what’s the problem with the Liberal Party branding
itself as feminist if, by doing so, they embed the ideas of gender
equality, justice and human rights at the heart of mainstream culture?

Answer: Feminism is is more than a slogan. The Liberals’
branding will not count for much if their commitment fails to extend
beyond what they can package and sell as part of a fundraising campaign.
Nor is increasing the visibility and diversity of women in politics in
Canada enough. Feminism means being driven by the principles of gender
equality, sticking to those principles when and where it really matters,
and being held to account by the public.

By that standard, how exactly does the
Liberal party square their growing feminist brand with their decision
to sell light armoured vehicles to Saudi Arabia, one of the world’s most
anti-woman regimes? On this point, criticism is mounting.
In his speech to the NDP convention in Edmonton last month, Stephen
Lewis asked: “What kind of feminism is it that sells weapons to a
government steeped in misogyny?” The Leap Manifesto controversy and the
ousting of Tom Mulcair overshadowed Lewis’s criticism of the Liberals.
But it was good question, and it deserved more media play than it
received.
Saudi Arabia has long been criticized for its human rights record,
and among the myriad abuses is the way women are treated in the country.
It’s true that women’s rights in the kingdom have advanced somewhat in
recent years. Women are now allowed to stand for election and vote in municipal elections
after a ban was lifted by King Abdullah prior to his death last year.
But women in the country still cannot travel, drive, marry or work
without the consent of a male guardian, or the presence of a male
chaperone. A wife cannot open a bank account without her husband’s
permission. Women must abide by a strict dress code based on a rigid
interpretation of Islamic law and enforced by religious police.
There is increasing pressure on the Liberal government to rethink
Canada’s sale of combat vehicles — which are equipped with machine guns
and anti-tank cannons — to Saudi Arabia. A coalition of human rights
groups, development organizations and others recently wrote an open
letter to Trudeau, saying there “is a reasonable risk that the ruling
House of Saud will use the vehicles against its own citizens and in the
Saudi military mission in neighbouring Yemen.”
The Liberal party has pushed feminism into the forefront of politics
in Canada. Trudeau has elevated some of Canada’s most competent women to
positions of power. This is precisely why the dissonance rings so
loudly. If feminism really is the new driving ideology for the Liberal
party, let’s talk about how it extends to our foreign policy.celine.cooper@gmail.com

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About Me

I'm a freelance writer based in Maine. I lived in Saudi Arabia for many years. I studied Arabic in college eons ago and married my college sweetheart, a fellow Arabic student. My first novel, A CARAVAN OF BRIDES, is set in Saudi Arabia. I'm working on my second novel while writing feature stories about the Middle East. I am also the co-founder and Administrative Director of the Arabic Music Retreat.